Transportation pioneer ZAP turns ten

Transportation pioneer ZAP turns ten

SANTA ROSA, California (September 23, 2004) - The small, Northern California Company that made a name for itself by 'zapping' bicycles, scooters, and cars, celebrated its tenth anniversary today. ZAP (OTC BB:ZAAP) of Santa Rosa, California has been working for the past decade to commercialize the growing demand for more energy efficient and environmentally friendly forms of transportation and energy.

Today ZAP is on the verge of becoming America's newest automotive manufacturing company. This week, ZAP announced that its new Chinese-assembled electric WORLDCAR, has been certified by the State of California Environmental Protection Agency as a "Zero-Emission Vehicle" and is one of the first full-performance production electric cars. ZAP is also waiting for EPA approval of the new Smart Car Americanized by ZAP, a 60-MPG micro-car imported from Europe. With these cars soon to be available to consumers, ZAP is working on establishing a ZAP automotive dealer network that will become the distribution portal for a variety of advanced automotive technologies that follow ZAP's philosophy of 'Zero Air Pollution.'

ZAP has restructured in the past few years with the addition of its recent automobiles as well as other new products to create divisions underneath the corporate umbrella and brand of ZAP. In addition to its automotive division, ZAP is retaining its consumer products division to further develop its line of electric bikes, scooters and similar vehicles. ZAP also recently announced the establishment of ZAP Energy Division with the introduction of its new ZAP Portable Energy, a lithium-ion battery system that can be used as a power source for mobile electronics, like cell phones and handheld computers. ZAP says technology like this produced in larger formats has the ability to power electric cars for hundreds of miles per charge.

ZAP has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1994 in Alameda, California where it manufactured its patented ZAP electric motor kit for bicycles. ZAP moved to Sebastopol, California in 1995 and expanded to make electric bicycles for law enforcement, commuting and recreation. ZAP went public in 1996 to keep the company moving ahead and growing with an innovative Direct Initial Public Offering on its website. ZAP parleyed its entry into the stock market to introduce its ZAPPY? folding electric scooter, which catapulted the relatively unknown company around the world, with shipments of the ZAPPY to more than 60 different countries. To this day, ZAP's patented ZAPPY is still known as one of the best electric scooters on the market.

ZAP's success with the ZAPPY was short-lived as it came to grips with increasing low-cost competition for scooters and bicycles. In the period following 1999, ZAP sought to diversify its product lines with such items as electric motorcycles, underwater scooters, neighborhood electric cars and more. The costs in R&D to develop new products was further hindered by the stock market crash of 2000, which left ZAP with few choices but to seek protection under a Chapter 11 Reorganization in 2002. During this four-month period, ZAP reorganized to reduce its operating costs and brokered a merger with two automotive marketing companies, which resulted with the entry of Steve Schneider as Chief Executive Officer for ZAP.

Schneider dreamed that the timing was ripe to establish a new car company focused on advanced transportation technologies that are socially responsible and friendly to the environment. By combining ZAP's resources and brand recognition with his 20 years experience in the automotive business, over the past two years Schneider has charted an aggressive new strategy of creating an auto dealer network that caters to environmentally friendly consumers.

"As a pioneer in this industry ZAP has taken a number of risks, but we now feel that ZAP is positioned to be involved in a major shift taking place in the transportation and energy markets," said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider. "In an era when industry and government are debating about the future of transportation, ZAP is forging ahead with new technologies, new products and an aggressive new business plan. We like to say that ZAP stands for Zero Air Pollution, which is a new kind of philosophy that we feel is important for the industry of tomorrow. In the end, we think that a good business is a business that is good for the environment and is socially responsible."

Schneider's dream came one step closer to reality last month when ZAP and technology partner Apollo Energy Systems unveiled a new hydrogen fuel cell technology powered by liquid ammonia and an advanced lead-cobalt battery system. This patented innovation of a fuel cell system used by NASA could also bring America one step closer to President Bush's dream of a hydrogen economy. ZAP and Apollo say that they could put a fuel cell powered ZAP car on the road by next year, years ahead of the forecasts for other hydrogen fuel cell designs, which could mean that ZAP's plans of becoming a car company may be just around the corner.